Avoidance of recognition sites of restriction-modification systems is a widespread but not universal anti-restriction strategy of prokaryotic viruses.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Restriction-modification (R-M) systems protect bacteria and archaea from attacks by bacteriophages and archaeal viruses. An R-M system specifically recognizes short sites in foreign DNA and cleaves it, while such sites in the host DNA are protected by methylation. Prokaryotic viruses have developed a number of strategies to overcome this host defense. The simplest anti-restriction strategy is the elimination of recognition sites in the viral genome: no sites, no DNA cleavage. Even a decrease of the number of recognition sites can help a virus to overcome this type of host defense. Recognition site avoidance has been a known anti-restriction strategy of prokaryotic viruses for decades. However, recognition site avoidance has not been systematically studied with the curren

SUBMITTER: Rusinov IS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6286503 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature